What We Lost

Description

“Ben Bedford has proven himself to be a truly inspired and talented storyteller.” -Arthur Wood, Maverick

The songwriting pride of Springfield, Illinois returns with a brilliantly executed set of songs that forge a fusion of opposites, conversational and well-honed, ambiguous yet sharply drawn, subtle and explosive. Drawing on lessons gleaned from writers like John Steinbeck and Toni Morrison, Bedford creates a vast canvas of the Midwest expressing a feeling for the land and its ghosts; pent-up centuries of things that can’t be experienced except by suggestion appear like sudden mirages in Bedford’s lines, accessible to memory.
“What We Lost” is written from the perspective of Bedford’s grandfather after the death of his brother during WWWII. “Vachel” chronicles the tumultuous life and demise of Springfield’s misunderstood intinerant poet, Vachel Lindsay. “Cahokia,” sketching the deserted mound city of the Mississippian culture, evokes the ancient past; “Fire in His Bones” portrays Charlie Patton, one of the fathers of the Delta Blues. All of this recalls Randy Black’s line, “It’s what you’ve lost that makes you what you are, it ain’t what you got.” The tough stuff is where the love is. Truly a heartening project from one of the nation’s finest workers in song.